tiresome but nonetheless always sure of itself

– Imagine a woman who sells everything she owns to afford her child’s chemotherapy. – This woman must now work two or three jobs to afford her debt and a measly apartment in a rundown part of town. The kid survives but now attends an underfunded school, and has less parental help because her mom is so stressed and busy. When she turns 18, there is no money for college, in fact, she’s had to keep a job of her own for years to help pay the bills and is struggling […]

– MERCUTIO I see Queen M.O.A.B. hath been with you. She is the devil’s midwife, and she comes In shape much bigger than an agate-stone Pushed by the finger of an orange man, Drawn by a team of sub-atomics To scorch men’s faces as they lie asleep; Her chariot is an giant flaming skull Made by Lockheed Martin or Boeing Time out o’ mind the devil’s coachmakers. And in this state she gallops night by night Through native’s brains, and then they dream of death; O’er dictator’s knees, that dream […]

– I cannot believe I have to say this, but this ain’t about WMDs. – It is unfathomable to me that anyone can look at the air strikes launched by US warships and authorized by the historically unpopular President and think that the quandary here is one of bellicose utility: if we have the power to end suffering, should we? It is even more infuriating that those who have obsessed over Trump’s connections with Russian intelligence for the last month – to the exclusion of important coalition building around critical domestic […]

– I recently became a dad, for the first time. – I knew before my daughter was born that she would depend on me to give her a leg up in this world. And when I first saw her, I felt it in my heart – I owe her everything I can give possibly give her. Within reason. Every parent wants to give their kid every possible advantage in life. I want my daughter to eat the best foods and attend the best schools, and I’ll provide that to her […]

– Democrats mounted an admirable effort to stop the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. – The vote finally passed today with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote. This was a historic near-win for the Democrats and shows promise for the millions of people who have spent their own time pressuring their representatives to reject DeVos. It is a heartening defeat. But when you look at the track record of Democrats who occupy seats in the House and Senate, there is clear evidence that many of […]

– Wunderkind entrepreneur and billionaire Randian centerfold Elon Musk announced that he plans to collaborate with the Trump administration. – His hope is that his influence will steer the President toward supporting a carbon tax. “The more voices of reason that the President hears, the better,” he said in Gizmodo, “Simply attacking him will achieve nothing. Are you aware of a single case where Trump bowed to protests or media attacks?” Donald Trump has famously asserted that climate change is a myth invented by the Chinese, and is currently moving […]

“I love being a millennial, because my framed Obama poster becomes ironic at will.” I wrote this joke for a show in 2014 that I knew would have an older crowd, and people laughed. It wasn’t only a joke. I actually do have a framed Shepard Fairey ‘Progress’ poster framed and hung on the wall of my office, staring hopefully over my shoulder as I write this. Its meaning to me has drastically changed since 2008, because I have changed, and the country has mostly stayed the same. […]